


An Ace trainer, Not an Ace Dater

by Zetoc



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Original Character(s), Pokemon Battle, annoying best friends, first attempt, mute character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-07 04:11:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4248828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zetoc/pseuds/Zetoc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My first attempt at a fanfiction. Trying to use as little actual characters as possible, just trying my hands at it. Just cute fluff stuff. Can't really summarise it much. Please give an honest review as possible. Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's NOT a date

Michele usually reserved her weekends for lying in on the morning, resting all day and then relaxing at night. It’s not like she hadn’t earned it. She worked Monday to Friday at the Aoatik, helping to teach trainers, from beginners to experts, all about Pokemon and batting. But when her phone woke her up with the most depressing happy ring tone in existence, she knew that that wasn’t happening this time.  
“Hello? Who‘s this?” she groggily asked, suppressing a yawn.  
“Hey Michele! It’s Sara! How are you?” answered a voice that was far too cheery for the time of day it was.  
“Sara, why are you calling this early in the morning?” asked Michele, looking at her alarm clock.  
“Michele, it’s 11 o’clock!”  
“So?”  
“So you’ve already wasted most of the day! That’s why I’m here.”  
“Wait, what?” She was still sleepy, but her warning senses where triggered, as they always did when Sara was involved.  
“I’m outside. See?” Michele heard a knock on her front door. And then another knock. And another.  
Groaning, she threw herself out of bed and rushed downstairs, grabbing a jacket as she did so. Sara was still knocking when she made it to the door.  
“Why would you do that?” Michele yelled, flinging open the door. “My family’s upstairs; they’re all still sleeping!”  
“Really? Arceus, you’re all super lazy.” said Sara, raising one of her eyebrows accusingly.  
“No! You are just insane, being up this early on a weekend.” said Michele, trying to keep the tiredness out of her voice in order to sound angry. “What are you here for anyway?”  
“I’m here to get you get ready!” said Sara, twirling on her heel in excitement. When she saw the confused look on Michele’s face, her face dropped.  
“Don’t tell me you forgot!” Sara stared at Michele with a crossed look on her face.  
“Sara, I am far too tired to play games with you. What are you on about?”  
“Your DATE, dummy!” squealed Sara, clapping her hands excitedly.  
Michele just stared at her for minute. And then slammed the door.

After 20 minutes of knocking, and a lot of missed calls and texts, Sara finally worked her way into the house. They were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee, one of whom really needed it and the other should never be given it. But Sara was quiet when drinking, so Michele allowed it. She’d woken up too much to go back to sleep, so she had eventually relented to let Sara in if only to pass the time.  
“Soooooo…” said Sara, a dangerously playful smile on her face. “What time are you going at? On your daaate.” She exaggerated the ‘a’ on ‘date’ grating the word against Michele.  
“It’s not a date. And I have to be there by two.”  
“Good, we have plenty of time to get you ready. And it is so a date.”  
“It’s really not. And we have two hours. I don’t need that long to get ready. Ten minutes at most.”  
“You can’t be serious!” Sara almost shouted. “I am not letting my best friend go on her first date looking like you always do.”  
“Who said it’s my first? And it’s not a date! And what’s wrong with the way I normally look?”  
“Come on, it so is. You never even looked sideways at any of the boys at Aoatik. Everyone who hit on you ever you just walled. And nothing really, but you could… you know… try?”  
Michle nearly chocked on her coffee hearing that. “Wait! Who hit on me? And it’s NOT a date!”  
“Really? You didn’t notice? Hahahaha.” Sara burst out laughing. “All the guys there tried to. Petra even set up a betting pool in the end up. I wonder who gets the money now.”  
Michele groaned thinking of the cocky Ranger. “Remind me to set Velvet on her later.”  
“You know that would be funny if you hadn’t actually done it once.” It had taken a week to fix the damage Velvet had done to the club house. Petra’s car never recovered.  
“It wasn’t meant to be a joke.”  
“Sheesh. Cruel.” said Sara. “Moving onto lighter things, where are you going later?”  
“We’re meeting at Santalune city, at one of the cafés. We’ll decide when we get there.”  
“How lovely! Look at you, trying to be all Miss Sophisticated. Your date’s going to be weak at the knees!”  
“It’s not a date!”  
“Really?” grinned Sara. “That note really says otherwise.” She held her hand out, requesting the card, even though she had spent hours squealing over it everyday since she got it. She relented though, it was always too much effort to argue with Sara. Handing the small card over, Sara immediately started to examine it, as if she’d find something new on it that she hadn’t noticed before. Not that there was much on the note anyway, just a number on one side and on the other the words ‘Text me.’ The only thing that gave away anything about the writer was the little heart at the end of the sentence. It was a little shaky as if the writer had rushed it, initially unsure of whether to put it on or not and decided to gamble on it. Michele hadn’t needed to deduce that though; she had been there at the writing of the note and had seen the look on the person’s face.  
“Ohhhh!” whined Sara. “Why does nothing this cute ever happen to me. Does your date have a brother or sister I could steal?”  
“Wow. That sounded really desperate, even for you Sara.” replied Michele, taking a sip of her coffee. “And it’s not a date.”  
“Come on! That was harsh. It’s been so long since I’ve gone on a good date.”  
“Didn’t you go out with Pierce last weekend?” Michele asked, bringing up one of the Ace’s from Aoatik.  
“That wasn’t a date. We were just meeting up.” answered Sara as if that cleared the situation up in at all. “Anyway, we have to get you ready. Come on.” With that Sara leaped out of her seat, yanking Michele out of her’s, abandoning the drinks on the table. Once they‘d had reached her bedroom, Michele immediately dropped down onto the bed, her desire to go under the covers overwhelming. Sara on the other hand rushed to her closet, and began to shift through the small supply of clothes inside.  
“Let‘s see, let‘s see.” hummed Sara, before stopping in confusion and double checking the clothes to confirm her suspicions. “Do you have five of the same jacket?”  
“Yeah.” answered Michele, who was taking really long blinks now. “They looked nice and black’s my colour. Plus they were 50% off.”  
“Hmm. I just thought you wore the same thing to Aoatik everyday.” Sara pulled a T-shirt out and scrutinised it, before pursing her lips and putting it back.  
“That’s… kinda completely disgusting.” Michele frowned at Sara, who just shrugged and turned back to her work.  
“What time are your parents lifting you into Santalune at?”  
“They’re not” replied Michele, who was now lying on her bed with her eyes closed, trying to relax. “I’m just going to cycle there. Should only take about half an hour. An hour tops”  
“WHAT!?!” screamed Sara, causing Michele to fall of the bed in panic.  
“Sara! You’re going to wait everyone up for Arceus’ sake.” Michele yelled at her, rubbing her head were she had whacked it against her night stand when she fell. Sara was too busy panicking to even take Michele on though.  
“It’s 12 now! We only have an hour to fix your hair, get your nails done, make up, get you dressed up… and now that’s a nightmare too ‘cause you can’t wear anything fancy ‘cause you have to ride a bike. Oh Arceus, what am I going to do with you!” Sara was frantically rushing around now, grabbing all sorts of clothes and beauty products from around the room, the little that were actually there. She flung them all on to the bed and began to sort through them, throwing away anything that wasn’t apart of whatever mad scheme she was planning out. Michele just stared at her friend for a while, and with a shake of her head got up and left the room saying, “You stay there. I’m going to have a shower.”  
“Mmhmm” came the reply, Sara too focused to be chatty. She had work to do. Michele just sighed. It was going to be a long day.

“Are you sure that you what to go on the first date of your life in exactly the same clothes that you wear everyday.”  
“Considering that this is NOT A DATE, then yes. Yes I do.” After a gruelling hour of preparations, they had finally managed to make it outside the house. They were heading towards Sara’s now, Michele wheeling her bike along. It was in the same direction that Michele was going anyway, and as much of an annoyance as it had been, she was thankful for all the help Sara had given her. Neither had been fully happy at the outcome but both were satisfied enough. Sara was allowed to fix Michele’s hair and apply her make up and Michele was allowed to wear her trusty Ace uniform, which made cycling so much easier.  
“Ohhh” Sara squealed once again. “Part of me is super tempted to come along and spy on you two. I’m sure you’ll just be so cute together.”  
“If you dare I am sooo going to let both Velvet and Turbo go completely crazy on you. There won’t be a trace of you left.” Michele glared at the Lass, daring her to see if she was joking or not.  
“Hehe.” Sara giggled nervously. “Point taken. But still, she is super cute though. And right up your street.”  
“You didn’t even know I was gay till Wednesday! How can you know my type? And that’s even if I have one.”  
“Ohh come on. How can you not see it! You’re both Pokemon trainers, she’s the only person to beat you in FOREVER, and you’re both strong-silent types. You fit so well together. And she’s super cute.”  
Michele thumped her friend on the arm. “Sara! You can’t say things like that!”  
“Hey!” Sara asked, rubbing her arm were it hurt. “What did I say to deserve that?”  
“She’s not the strong silent type, she’s mute! That’s really rude!”  
“I guess. Sorry.” Sara apologised. “But she is crazy strong though. And she didn’t even have to say anything. It’s like her Pokes just knew what to do.”  
“Yeah. I’m going to need to find out how she did that today.” Michele’s hand went to her belt, holding two Pokeballs. She felt a slight tremor, the two of them confused but excited to be out and about this early.  
“Uhhh.” Sara groaned. “Don’t spend all day taking about battling. You’ll never be able get a women like that.”  
“Oh like you would know about that.”  
Once they reached Sara’s place, the girl pulled Michele into a big hug.  
“Good luck today. And try to enjoy it, for what it‘s worth.” Sara had an almost serious ting to her voice. She really wanted it to work out for her friend, if the friend in question was reluctant on the matter.  
“Thanks. And I will.” Michele replied as she hopped onto her bike.  
“And say hi to her from me. It’s Lucca, right?”  
“Yeah, that’s right. And I will. Bye.” Michele pushed off then, heading down route 21.  
“AND REMEMBER TO ASK ABOUT THAT BROTHER OR SISTER.” Sara shouted after her. Michele just laughed at that and cycled on, towards Santalune and the beginning of a very, very long day.


	2. You know the drill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rather tired Michele reminisces over her first encounter with Lucca, and the battle of a lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter really got away from me. I don't think they'll usually be this long but we'll see. Hope you enjoy.

She had to admit, it was really pleasant to be up cycling this time of the morning. There was a laze in the air, probably due to the intense heat, so all along the route there were wild Pokemon, lying in the grass. There wasn’t many trainers out yet, and any that were weren’t asking for battles. They were making the most of the weather, playing with there Pokemon for a while rather than starting an fights. That suited Michele just fine; she had a deadline to meet. Not that she was in a rush to make it. She was making record time along the route. Usually she’d stop around here and spend a while, as this was the very route where she had caught Velvet. They had both been younger back then; Velvet only having hatched (she could tell from the low level) and she was without her own Pokemon, instead borrowing one from her older brother. She heard a slight rattle on her waist and smiled, knowing her old friend was reminiscing too. But there would be no stopping today. After so much time together, the Pokemon could read Michele like a book, and could feel that this day had some important to the Ace, even if Michele was doubting it. Feeling the rumblings within the device stop, Michele took that as a sign to continue with the present course. She wasn’t trying to cycle too hard along the route, considering that the effort combined with the heat of the day would cause her to end up stinking worse that a Muk’s sludge bomb. She had packed some perfume into her bag just in case, courtesy of Sara, but prevention was better than cure. Not that she was too concerned with how she appeared to the young trainer she was going to meet, don’t be absurd. It’s was within keeping of an Ace to be the image of self-control and grace, which would be difficult to achieve if one looked a mess. That’s why she let Sara use more make up than normal today, and that’s why she wasn’t biting on her nails as was her habit, or letting the wind blow through her neatly brushed hair. It was for the image, not Lucca. Yep. Michele sigh to herself. She really wondered why she’d agreed to this. Not that the girl wasn’t nice at all (she had been very polite and courteous when they’d messaged each. And she was admittedly rather cute), it’s just that it had been rather unexpected thing to ask. No one could have blamed her for saying no, . But something had caught Michele’s eye about the trainer when they’d meet on that day. She couldn’t help but daydream back to earlier in the week. Back to the battle that had started this whole chain of events.  
It had been a pretty hectic day at the Aoatik. For her anyway. Her ‘co-leaders’ were being as helpful as always; Sara was trying to chat up a young tourist who had wandered into the building, Petra hiding out Arceus-know’s-where, avoiding work at all costs, Robin was playing with some school kids (who were meant to training as well, noted Michele), and Georgia, most annoyingly, wanted to paint a picture of her working.  
“Seriously?” she had said. “We have three new trainers wanting to join. I’m the only one doing the damn paperwork, and you’re asking me to pose?”  
“Ack, come on Micky” replied Georgia. “All you have ta do is look busy for half a minute.”  
“I don’t have to look busy; I AM busy. I’m the only one here who does any actual work here. All of you just go off and do your own thing.”  
“We all gotta do what we do best, eh?” said the painter, who had finished setting up her canvas.  
“Wow, how philosophical.” Michele sarcastically retorted, moving back to her work. Before she could even put pen to paper, she felt a rough tap on the head. Turning to glare at the perpetrator, she saw the grinning face of a magical Ranger, who had teleported back into existence.  
“Sup boss.” Petra said. It was only the four years older, fully qualified Ranger who called her ‘boss’, so the title was obviously ironic to anyone listening.  
“If you’re here for any other reason than to help with this, I will personally tear your head off.”  
“Well, better you than Velvet.” shrugged Petra. “Speaking of your favourite death threat, you‘ve got a challenge.”  
Michele groaned. “For Arceus’ sake, one of you take it. Am I the only one in this place?”  
“You know the drill. She wants the best.” said Petra, grinning at the Ace’s plight. Michele groaned again. Yeah, she really did know the drill. A hot headed trainer, maybe with a badge or two under their belt, believing themselves to be great, demanding to challenge no less than the best was an all too common occurrence at the club. And the best was her. Sure she didn’t look much, she saw the doubt in the challengers eye’s when she stepped forward inside of the much more experienced looking Petra. But that faded when they saw the eight badges. And then fear took it’s place when she sent out her Pokemon, battle hardened and imposing. Some would forfeit there and then, and even though it saved her the time and effort, was extremely disappointing for the Ace. It was disheartening to see them just give up; it defeated the point of being a trainer. But even if they did accept, the battles never lasted long. The Pokemon the trainers brought couldn’t come close to Velvet or Turbo. She could take on an entire team with just one of them. It always ended in her win.  
“Alright then, let’s get this over with.” Michele rushed out of her chair, towards the door of the small back room. Petra followed quickly, and soon after Georgia, carrying her canvas.  
“Don’t make it too quick now, Micky. I wanna paint this one.”  
“Sorry Georgie.” came the reply. “I just want this over with.”  
By the time she had reached the makeshift battle area of their club, Michele had gained a large lead on two girls. This lead to an awkward moment where she had to wait for Petra to point out the challenger amongst the small crowd of people who had gathered in the vicinity, the 20 or so trainers making it impossible to pick out her opponent. News of a battle spread fast amongst the members, especially if it involved the young Ace. Once Petra arrived, Michele turned to her, raising a questioning eyebrow.  
“Relax.” she said. “She’s over there. Robin seems to be chatting to her. OYE ROBBIE COME HERE! BRING THE GIRL” Looking in the direction that Petra was facing, she saw Robin tugging a young girl trainer along with her. She wasn’t exactly what Michele was expecting. For a start, she was smaller than her, which (she had to admit) was quite the achievement. She had dark skin, with long black hair than ran quite a bit down her back. She was wearing a navy coat, one Michele recognised from the boutique in Snowbelle city, along with a pair of beige boots and a rather exotic-looking purple hat which had a pink flower in it. The trainer didn’t have that cocky, ‘come-and-get-it’ look about her either, the one she was used to. She was rather the opposite, staring at Michele rather shyly, standing slightly behind Robin. She kind of hoped that meant it would be a quick battle, but she was pretty annoyed at having her time wasted over an under-confident trainer.  
“Michele, this is Lucca.” presented Robin, sidestepping to remove any cover the young girl had. “Lucca, this is Michele, our resident Ace trainer.”  
Michele stepped forward, noticing at the same time the girl making a slight shuffle backwards, and offered out her hand.  
“Hello. I hope we have a good battle.” The courtesy was automatic to the Ace by now, having repeated it for ever battle she had taken part in. Lucca stared at the hand for a second before taking it, grasping at the very end of Michele’s fingers, and gently shook it, before hastily pulling away. Noticing the blush on the young girl’s face, Michele concluded that she was either really inexperienced as a trainer, incredibly shy or practically terrified of her. Probably a mixture of them.  
“Is a one-on-one battle ok? I’m in a bit of a rush.” said Michele, failing to keep the exasperation out of her voice, just wanting for the girl to hurry up and start the battle. The girl blushed again and nodded, not making eye contact with Michele again.  
“Right, go stand over there.” said Michele, directing Lucca to the far right of the battle. “I’ll go to the other side. Robin, you referee. Petra, tell everyone to stand back a bit.” Michele then strode off to her position, pulling a Pokeball from her belt a she did so. When she turned to face the challenger, she saw that she was standing at the ready, her own Pokeball in hand. Michele looked in Robin’s direction and nodded, signalling the young duchess to begin.  
Clearing her throat first, Robin looked at the crowd and began the introduction to the battle.  
“Hello Ladies and Gentlemen. Today we have a one-on-one battle between our resident Ace trainer, Michele, and her challenger, Lucca. The victory will go to the trainer whose Pokemon is the last one standing. Trainers, are you ready?”  
“Ready!” shouted Michele. Lucca nodded vigorously in Robin’s direction.  
“Ok then. On three.”  
Michele gripped her the ball in her hand tighter and glanced at her opponent. The young girl had her eyes closed and was taking a deep breathe.  
“One”  
At the breathing slowly out, Lucca opened her eyes and stared directly at Michele. The Ace was shocked for a moment at the transformation. Gone was the shyness, replaced by steely determination. She was smiling too, for the first time, but not cockily. It was a calm smile, one that said to Michele “I’m ready.”  
“Two.” said Robin, slowly raising both arms above her head.  
“Well.” Michele had thought at the time. “This is different.” And as an after thought, “She’s actually pretty cute.”  
“THREE!” shouted Robin, quickly swinging her arms down, signalling the start of the battle.  
Michele immediately focused, all thoughts rushing out of her head, thinking only of the battle. She threw the ball in her hand, sending it in a graceful arch towards the battle field. Before it hit the ground, it snapped open, and from it emerged an imposing sight. Velvet. Every member knew how well Michele worked with her Poke, they knew how powerful a combination they were. But even if by some chance they didn’t, they would still know by looking what a strong Pokemon she was. They could tell by the gleaming red of her body, the deadly look in her eyes and the snap of her pincers that she was no Scizor to be messed with. But while others gazed in wonder at Velvet, both the Pokemon and Michele looked at their opponent’s Pokemon, judging what kind of a challenge it would be. It was definitely a rare sight to see, its species not being common in Kalos. The metal that surrounded the top of its head and on its claws where dull in colour but she could see the sharpness of them from where she stood. They looked tried and tested, and if she was allowed to assume, they tested well. It had a scar that ran along its cheek, intersecting with the red stripes on it’s face, which added to the look of menace it possessed. Not that it was the main cause of the look; that was reserved for the eyes. They glared directly back into Velvet’s, matching her fierce glance with one of its own. Michele saw Velvet tense her arms, preparing herself for the fight ahead and showing her trainer that this wasn’t an opponent to mess about with.  
“Damn.” thought Michele. “I’m never going to get that paperwork done.”  
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a slight movement from Lucca before hearing a roar from her Pokemon.  
“EXCADRILL.” it shouted, before it slashed its claws together, the sound ringing through the field.  
“Velvet, Rock Smash.” commanded Michele. It would be super effective against the steel type and it might even lower its defences if Velvet could hit it just right. Without a sound, the Scizor’s wings flared outwards and she rushed forwards, becoming a red blur that raced across the field. Within seconds it had reached she had reached her target, one pincer glowing red as she committed to the attack. Instead of trying to block, the Excadrill growled at its opponent, and lifted its own claws in retaliation, which had began to glow grey as it began it’s attack. Sparks flung as the two clashed again and again, each attack meeting a counter. Velvet was faster than her opponent, but the Excadrill was holding its ground, each pincer being blocked with surprising accuracy for claws of their size. Suddenly, it jumped back a step, throwing Velvet off balance before rushing in, glowing claws at the ready.  
“Velvet, Acrobatics.” Michele shouted, hoping her Poke would understand her meaning. Velvet obviously did, as she suddenly leaped over the charging Excadrill, using it‘s own head as a spring board. As soon as she had touched the ground, the Scizor rushed at the Excadrill’s exposed back. The Pokemon was knocked over, unable to control it’s momentum from the charge combined with the force of Velvet’s attack. It quickly recovered from the attack though, resisting the hit well. Again Michele noted Lucca shuffle a bit before she saw her Pokemon launch an attack. Roaring at Velvet, the Excadrill’s entire body started to glow with a white outline, before a large boulder appeared above it’s head. Falling down on top of it, the Excadrill caught the boulder with it’s claws above it’s head, before, with a shout, throwing it straight at Velvet. It had all occurred quickly, so her Pokemon had little time to react, and only managed to position herself so the boulder glanced off her and didn’t completely crush her. But the move still hurt, as evident by the large scratches across the Scizor’s body where the boulder had hit.  
“That Excadrill has an extraordinary amount of power behind it.” thought Michele. “It hasn’t even set up yet.” Then it dawned on her.  
“Stupid, stupid.” she cursed herself. That hadn’t been a scare tactic at the beginning. It had used Hone Claws, disguising the move with its charade. That’s why it’s been able to block Velvet’s attacks so well. She glanced at the opposing trainer, who was intently watching the battle, the determination from the start still in her eyes. It was obvious that she had trained her Pokemon well. It had been a mistake to underestimate her.  
“Velvet, you ok?” she shouted. Glancing briefly at her trainer, the Pokemon nodded determined to continue the fight. Not for the first time, pride welled up in her for her amazing Pokemon. She was damned if she was going to let her down.  
“Right then. Go for Bullet Punch, mixed in Rock Smashes.” She saw Velvet’s eyes narrow in understanding, Michele knowing that she would be grinning if she could. Faster than before, her Pokemon dashed towards the other, launching its attack before even setting foot on the ground. The punches came raining down on the Excadrill, so many that it was all it could do to block, let alone counter. The hits weren’t doing much on there own though, not even scratching the Pokemon. Suddenly amongst the barrage of steel on steel, came a flash of red, which bushed through the Excadrill’s defences and slammed hard into it’s chest. It was send flying back, the force of the blow causing it to do a small flip in the air before crashing down. It had been a solid hit, so the Excadrill would be severely weakened by the attack. The Excadrill was clawing it’s way to its feet, growling in pain from the attack, which had left a large mark on its chest. Michele glanced at the young trainer across the field, surprised by how much she recognised the look on her face and how little she saw it. She was looking at her Pokemon, desperate to go over to it but knowing that it would forfeit the match, she didn’t. The Excadrill looked towards its trainer, the two communicating without a word, a rare connection that required countless hours of spending time together. It was like the connection that Michele had with her Pokemon, and it just showed that she was facing a special kind of trainer. She saw the two nod in unison, before the Excadrill pulled itself to its feet and face its opponent, the fire in its eyes showing that the fight wasn’t over yet. Michele grinned. She hadn’t had a fight like this in months. She was relishing the moment; feeling the blood pump in her veins, taking in the sight of the two Pokemon, each as determined to win as the other, absorbing the sounds the crowd of trainers cheering at both, not caring as much for a win as for an epic conclusion to an epic fight. And Michele was going to give it to them.  
“Let’s go, Velvet. Rock Smash.”  
Her own Poke nodded, knocking her two glowing red pincers into each other in eagerness. Across the field, she saw Lucca’s Excadrill slash its claws together powering up for what might be the last clash of the fight. There was a pause, a heartbeat’s length, between the two Pokemon, a mutual acknowledgement of the other’s performance. Then they charged, Velvet as silent as always, Lucca’s Excadrill roaring its own name as a battle cry. Velvet had the speed advantage and was closing the distance much faster than her opponent was, but the Excadrill was no slouch, moving at a great speed for such seemingly small legs. Just as the two Pokemon were about to clash, Michele saw Lucca make the faintest of movements, and, suddenly, the Excadrill threw itself into the air and straighten its body, clamping the claws on its arms with the metal blade on its head, forming a deadly drill. By the time Michele figured out what it was trying to achieve it was too late. Velvet, who had raised her pincers in order to attack, rammed straight into the drill point, it’s twice sharpened edge easily piercing the Scizor’s steel body. Velvet’s momentum carried her forward still, her faster speed and weight being used to cause further damage herself. The two Pokemon crashed down into the ground together, their bodies separating on contact with the hard surface. Both were sprawled across the floor, pain and tiredness etched across both of their faces. It was impossible to tell who had taken more damage from the encounter, both Pokemon feeling the force of the same blow on their bodies. After what seemed like an age, both grimaced in near unison, as they each pull themselves to their feet. Michele gazed at the sight, as magnificent as it was harrowing; seeing the two adversaries picking themselves up after such an intense battle. As both raised themselves tall, she could see that both were shaking under their own weight. There was no chance of anymore fighting. It was only about who could stay up the longest. An eternity seemed to pass as they gazed into each other’s eyes, the same determination written in both. But suddenly, a huge shudder passed through Velvet’s body, and she fell to one knee, barely able to maintain consciousness, and collapsed. A hushed awe passed through the small crowd, taking in the unbelievable sight before them. Robin then stepped forward, remembering her duty, and announced, “Michele’s Velvet is unable to battle. The winner is Excadrill and Lucca.” And with that, the crowd roared, louder than what should be possible for the size of them. It wasn’t a cheer for Lucca’s victory or a jeer at Michele’s defeat. It was a celebration of the immense sight they had witness. None of them had witness a battle with the sheer impact that this one had. But the noise was lost on Michele, as she just rushed to her friend’s side, lifting her to rest against her own shoulder. Discovering that Velvet wasn’t conscious, she brought out her Pokeball and returned her to it.  
“Thank you. For everything.” she whispered into the ball, hoping Velvet would hear her in her sleep. Glancing over, she saw Lucca crounched beside her Excadrill, who was sitting on the floor in tiredness. She wasn’t saying anything, but the young trainer was hugging her Pokemon, who seemed to be rolling its eyes at its trainer, but not making a move to stop it. She smiled at the sight and walked over to the girl. Lucca didn’t notice until the Ace’s shadow passed in front of her, and when she looked up at her, Michele saw that the shyness had returned to her again. Michele just smiled reassuringly at her.  
“We have a healing unit inside if you want to use it. Better hurry before we get swamped by those idiots though.” she said, sticking a thumb in the direction of the crowd. Lucca nodded in agreement and accepted the hand, smiling timidly at the Ace.  
She had been right though. Both of their Pokemon had barely been healed before every witness to the fight had surged in, celebrating the girls on their battle, some shouting for a rematch and a small selection asking the poor victor out. The experience was rather overwhelming for Michele, and Lucca looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack, so both were glad when they saw a familiar Pokemon Ranger shouting at the crowd “Move your sorry asses out of here. Give the girls peace.” Most raced out there, some eager to have battles of there own, and the few that remained were scared out with a scowl from Petra. Soon it was only the top members of the Aoatik present.  
“OH ARCEUS, THAT WAS AMMMMAAAZZING!” squealed Sara, who leaped at the two girls, wrapping Michele and a rather flustered Lucca into a massive hug. “You guys are sooo cool. I’m so jealous. What’s your secret.”  
“Umm, Sara dear…” started Robin, but she was interrupted by Petra pulling Sara off the girls.  
“I’ve already had to threaten most of the club about giving the girls some space. Don’t make me start again.” she said, before turning to Lucca. “I got to hand to you though, not many out there could handle our Ace here. You’ve got to give me some tips so I can kick her ass, am I right?” The Ranger winked at the trainer, but was meet with staring eyes from Lucca.  
“I just was kidding you know.” said the Ranger, eyes frowning in confusion. “No need to panic.”  
“Hey guys, maybe you should know…” Robin tried to interject, but sudden shout from Georgia cut her off.  
“There! Finished!” she said. She turned her canvas around showing the painting she had been working on. It was showing the battle that she had just witness; it had Velvet and Excadrill in the centre, with Excadrill blocking one of Velvet’s Rock Smashes with a Metal Claw. Michele saw herself off to the right of the canvas and Lucca was to the far left, each watching with determination, silently cheering their Pokemon on. As with all of Georgia’s painting, not a single detail was lost on the painting, from the scratches on Velvet’s body to the faces of the cheering crowd. It was astonishing how she did them so quickly.  
“What’ch you guys think then? Micky? Lucs?” asked Georgia expectantly. As was her custom, she had already dished out a nickname to Lucca, causing the young girl to blush in shyness.  
“It’s wonderful Georgia.” answered Michele. “And I’m sure Lucca agrees.” Glancing over at the trainer, she started to nod vigorously. Georgia was satisfied with that, and picked the canvas off its stand.  
“I’ll just chuck this in the store room. Two secs.”  
Michele turned to Lucca, who was looking positively lost.  
“Don’t worry about these guys. They’re just friendly idiots.”  
Lucca smiled shyly at that, but she started to scuffle her boots against the floor, showing that she was still nervous.  
“There is something I’ve been wondering though. How did you do manage to tell your Pokemon what to do without saying anything? I noticed you move bit on the field, but I can’t work out how the two fit together” asked Michele, raising an eyebrow in query.  
With that Lucca‘s smile vanished, and she blushed even further. She dropped her eye’s from Michele to her boots.  
“Look if you don’t want to tell me that’s fine…” started Michele, but the young trainer panicked at that, snapping up to look at the Ace, upset and frustration written on her face. She had reached out and held onto Michele’s arms but once she’d realised what she’d done, she dropped it, bringing her hands up to her face in embarrassment.  
“Hey hey, it’s ok.” consoled Michele. She couldn't get this girl at all. She was a fiend in a Pokemon battle, but now she couldn't even look at Michele without blinking.”  
“IF I may.” Robin said from behind the pair, speaking with her voice of authority. “I know Lucca from the Battle Chateau, where, I feel I should say she is a Grand Duchess. I’ve known her for quite a while now and I believe it might help you to know that she is actually mute.”  
Michele looked at Robin for a minute, processing the information. And then at Lucca, who was looking at the floor.  
“Oh.” was the only think she could think to say. She saw Lucca begin to shuffle through a small wallet she had retrieved from her jacket and pull out a small card. She held it up to face Michele, and she read the word ‘Sorry’ on it. She didn’t really know how to react to that, so she just said. “That’s ok.” A lot of things were starting to making sense now. The shy girl tucked the card away and pulled out another two cards. One said ‘Thank you’ and the other ‘Battle?’ but she had covered to the question mark with a finger.  
“Oh!” said Michele, getting the meaning. “You’re welcome. I’m very glad I had it. I hope we can battle again.” While the phrase was common courtesy, she really did mean it. She hadn’t had that energising battle in too long, and she was sure that Turbo would love to fight one of Lucca Pokes, and Velvet would kill for a rematch. Lucca caught on to the sentiment, and smiled at her. Then she took a blank piece of card out of her little wallet and a pen, and started to scribble on it. She then turned the card around and scribbled on the other side again, hesitating for a second at the end, glancing at Michele briefly, before quickly scribbling a tiny bit at the end. She then bit her lip, and handed the card over to Michele. A little confused, she took the card and read it. On one side it said ‘Text me’ with a tiny heart at the end, and on the other side a phone number. Looking back at the trainer, she saw the young girl smiling, not as shyly as before, before waving and heading towards the exit. Michele watched Lucca walk away, probably sped up by what she had done.  
“Ohhhhh.” she heard from behind her, turning to see a chorus of her friendly idiots, all grinning like maniacs. Michele just glared at them.  
“Don’t you all have work to do?”  
Smiling at the memory, she realised that she had got absolutely nothing done the rest of that day; she had been far too busy dealing with her co-workers slacking off to ask her what she was going to do, if she was going to message Lucca, if it meant they were dating. Michele didn’t even know herself what was happening, but she definitely was going to message Lucca, if only to get to know the girl a little better. And Arceus no, they weren’t dating, they had just meet. A sudden rustle in the nearby grass snapped her out of her dreaming, and she saw a small group of Bunnelby hopping by. She must of managed to cycle all the way to Route 22 without realising it. Checking her watch, she saw she was going to be pretty early, sighing at the lost minutes of sleep she could have had. “Oh well.” she thought to herself. “At least I’ll be giving a good impression. If not a real one.” Then she frowned to herself. She wasn’t trying to impress Lucca, was she? Why would she be, it wasn’t like it was a date. Definitely not. Right? Sighing again, she realised what she had thought earlier was probably right. It was going to be a really, really long day.


	3. Smashing, snacking and starting things off.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michele arrives too early, Lucca arrives too late and speeding is bad for everyone. As always please enjoy, and if you have anything to say please do.

Santalune city was a very underrated tourist destination, in Michele’s opinion. There was a lovely peacefulness to it, being a small town with a small population, which was absent from most other towns, the hustle and bustle of everyday life overtaking it. Of course, just being peaceful would get a town nowhere in attracting people, but Santalune had a few tricks up its sleeve for that. It had a specialised boutique, carrying a few exclusive items for any collectors that passed through. Granted it wasn’t Michele’s cup of tea; she wasn’t a hat wearing girl, but she was happier that it was there rather than not. There was also a magnitude of baristas in the small town, more than what it needed. They were never in direct competition with each other though; each one appealing to a separate audience. The Scatterbug café (not to be confused with the Shutterbug café in Lumiose city) was your traditional café, mainly for those who are there only for a drink or a spot of lunch. For the young, too-cool-for-you teens there was the Farfetch’d barista, which was more like a bar and a coffee shop had a baby which was raised by a nightclub. She never really went in there, she much prefer talking to the blaring noise that they turned on after 11pm, but when Petra and Sara wanted to go she relented. It was tolerable with her friends, and someone had to make sure Petra didn’t get into a drinking contest. Her personal favourite was the Singing Chatot. It was the most expensive of the three, but it also came with free live music, so they were forgiven. The café’s policy was if you can play an instrument or sing, then you were more than welcome to come up on stage. They didn’t hire anyone special to play, the small time business could hardly afford to, but there was always someone willing to perform, so the café rarely passed any significant amount of time in complete silence. Aside from the drinking establishments, there was also the photo gallery/Gym in the town, run by Viola, the photographer/Gym leader. Most trainers started off their Gym challenge with Viola, so the gym was always bustling with young talent, giving plenty of opportunities to the public to watch a battle. The gallery then kept the visitors in the building, as they gazed at the masterful shots taken by the professional. New work appeared almost every day, which benefited sight-seers more than trainers, who had to wait patiently for Viola to return from her picture hunting before challenging the gym. The crowning gem of the little town had to the park in the centre. It provided the opportunity for an weary traveller to rest their legs for a minute, and take in the merge of nature and construction in the middle of the little city. Michele particularly liked to sit beside the Roselia foundation, the rush of the water jets blocking out any and all sounds of modern life. It was rather serene in its simple way. Well, it usually was. After spending twenty minutes beside it, the effect kind of lost its edge. And after another ten, it kind of caught on your nerves. Frowning, Michele glanced once again at her watch, seeing that it was once again 2:09pm. She tried not to be too irritated, the young girl she was meeting wasn’t even that late, but after arriving so early, the wait was really starting to wear on her. She wished she had brought something along with her to keep her entertained, a one of her strategy books or that one on Unovian history that was starting to get particularly interesting. Even paper work was starting to sound interesting. But once she started anything she was loathe to put it down until she was finished. She might hurt the poor girl’s feelings if she asked her to wait until she finished her chapter. Lucca was very prone to thinking if there was something wrong, it was somehow her fault. Anytime that Michele had missed a message and replied late, Lucca always apologised profusely, saying sorry at least five or six times in the one message. It amazed how such an anxious girl could have transform into a trainer of such confidence and skill in the battlefield. Hopefully, she could wring the answer out of her today, if she could get past all the blushing. Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she saw a very fast moving blur in the distance heading her way. She initially thought nothing of it, assuming it to be one of the young kids she saw roller skating earlier, but when that she saw the rather pink looking blur was going to crash into her, she jumped out of her seat and quickly sidestepped, letting the what-ever-it-was smash into the bench, tipping it over. Michele rushed over, to check if the person (it was definitely a person. The legs dangling over the bench was evidence enough) was ok, when she was stopped by the sight of a familiar face.  
“Are you alright Lucca?” asked the Ace. The young trainer only nodded, too dazed to even feel embarrassed.  
“Glad to here it. Come on. Let’s get you sorted out.” Michele pulled her to her feet and started to lead Lucca to a good resting point. Lucca just meekly followed along, still recovering from her crash.  
“Are you sure you’re actually ok? No concussion or anything?” Michele asked again. Lucca shook her head, taking a drink in an attempt to hide her blush. (She failed.) Michele had managed to bring Lucca to the Scatterbug café, knowing that Lucca wouldn’t any peace to recover in the either of the other two cafés. She had been right and Lucca had quickly returned to her usual self. Which had presented problems of its own. The young girl had nearly died of embarrassment when she had heard what she’d done, and had spent the next ten minutes hiding her face with her sleeves. The only reason that they weren’t up there now was Michele’s intervention; she had held the trainers hands and forced them onto the table, trapping them there with her own. Lucca had really blushed at the contact, but Michele didn’t give in at the sight. No matter how damn cute it had been. They had stayed like that until a waiter came to take their order, so Lucca was allowed her hands to communicate. She had pulled an A4 sized whiteboard card and marker out of her bag, and had used it to order a hot chocolate with extra sugar. Michele had raised an eyebrow at that, but Lucca just shrugged, writing that she had a bit sweet tooth. Michele also noted that Lucca had glanced back at Michele’s hand, which were resting on the table. Michele had giggled at that; the girl was far too easy a read. It was obvious she was head over heels for the Ace, but was too shy to press for anything. Michele felt rather flattered by the affair, but resolved to keep a cool head. She would try her best to just be herself, and then let the girl make her decision. No point rushing in on puppy love.  
“So Lucca.” she asked, causing the trainer to perk up. “How did you end up… you know… in that situation.” She mimed Lucca’s incident by running two fingers fast along the table before flipping them over. The girl blushed again at the little drama, but thankfully started to write an answer. It took a couple of pages of writing but Lucca managed to explain it all.  
“I was leaving my house at around 1.30 but then one of my friends Shauna was waiting for me outside hoping to walk with me to Santalune. I think she wanted to catch a look at you. She said I was probably being biased in my description of you.” At that Michele had looked quizzically at Lucca, but the trainer was cleaning the card to write again, deliberately not making eye contact.   
“She said that I couldn’t wear the same thing I wear everyday to my first date so she dragged me back home to get me to change. By the time I left it was 1.50 and I had to rush here. I wasn’t allowed to fly or cycle cause Shauna said it would ruin my hair. But it was 2 when I got to Santalune forest so I decided to skate the rest of the way.”  
“Well, I don’t think the crash help much with it.” said Michele, causing Lucca to blush and try to unsuccessfully pat her hair in place.  
“Here, let me” said Michele, before reaching across and running her fingers through the girl’s fringe. She noticed Lucca blush, but she wore the same expression that her younger brother wore when her Mum attempted fixed his. She giggled at that and continue to keep working.  
“Right, done. It wasn’t too bad anyway.” Lucca nodded, smiling shyly, before picking up one of the cards she had laid on the table earlier.  
“Thank you.” It said.  
“No problem. And I understand your pain. I had one of my friends ‘help’ me this morning.”  
Lucca pulled a puzzled face at that, at looked down at the ace’s clothes.  
“Yeah I know. I’m wearing the same thing as before but she wanted me to wear something different too.”  
“How did you get her to let you go?” Lucca wrote, probably hoping to pull the same thing with her friend.  
“I just looked threateningly at her. You’ll probably have to find something else to help you.” Michele said matter-of-factly, taking a drink to stop herself laughing and giving herself away.  
Lucca frowned at her, writing “I can look threatening.” Michele just smiled sweetly and raised a questioning eyebrow at the girl, inviting her to try. Lucca frowned further than before and glared at the Ace. The girl was holding her breathe doing it , so she ended up puffing her cheeks out slightly as well. This reminded Michele of a slightly peeved looking Qwilfish. As soon as she thought that she couldn’t help but burst out laughing, trying to not do so loudly in the quiet café. On she calmed down, she saw Lucca trying to make a hurt expression, but she couldn’t keep the smile tugging at her lips away.  
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.” apologised Michele. Lucca just nodded in agreement, before meeting Michele in the eye, and smiling along with her.  
“You friend definitely has a biased taste in clothes though. I’m guessing she likes pink?”  
Lucca looked down at her outfit, before grinning sheepishly and scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. The trainer was wearing a pale pink ribbon smock top, along with a pink tiered skirt, white knee socks and pink Mary Janes. She had the same hat from before on though, still with its pink follower which added to the bright look.   
“Sorry.” Lucca wrote on her card. “It’s a bit much. I look like a doll.”  
Michele smiled sweetly, as an idea popped in her head.   
“Don’t worry about it. I think you look really cute in it all.” Lucca somehow managed to blush greater than she ever had before, and slightly pulled her hat further down her head to hide her embarrassment. Michele giggled to herself. She knew she shouldn’t tease the young girl, who was so obviously finding it difficult to function around her, but she really did have a cute blush.   
“Come on.” she said, getting out of her seat and offering hand to Lucca. “Let’s go check out some other places. I’ve got few in mind.” The trainer looked up apprehensively at the Ace, before nodding and accepting the hand, being ok with it seeing as she was incapable of blushing any further.  
They spent the rest of the day touring the rest of Santalune city, checking out all it had to offer. Lucca had certainly been right about one thing; the girl had some sweet tooth on her. Throughout the course of the day, she had a hot chocolate, a lemonade, a soda, two large slices of chocolate cake at the Singing Chatot and an entire bag mints all by herself. She had at least the decency to offer some to Michele once or twice but she did manage to munch her way through at least 30 of them. When she pulled a chocolate bar from her purse, Michele had decided she had had enough and took it off her.   
“You’ve had enough.” Michele had scolded. “Eat something healthy for Arceus’ sake.” Lucca had responded to that by trying to order an apple crumble from a nearby stall. Michele had then pulled the girl towards route 4, getting the girl away from her slight addiction and try to walk off all the treats she had consumed. They had messed around in the mazes in the area, none of which were too difficult but fun none the less. There had been a particularly funny moment when there had been a bit of the maze’s hedge that Michele could peek over but Lucca couldn’t. Lucca had taken it pretty badly, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance when Michele had theatrically described what she was seeing. Lucca had gotten her revenge soon after, though not on purpose. The Ace had gotten herself separated from the girl during one of their maze explorations and while she searched for the trainer, Lucca had silently made her way behind her. When Michele turned around, the sight of the trainer appearing out of thin air had caused her to jump and squeak in terror. Lucca’s eyes had widened at the sound and though she did her best to cover it, Michele could still hear the giggles coming from the small teen. She had acted offended by the laugh and had stalked off, but Lucca had came running after her, with an apologetic smile on her face so she couldn‘t stay mad at her, even pretend mad. They were now back were they started off; back at one of the benches in the central park. They had initially sat a polite distance apart, but Michele had quickly grown frustrated at having to lean across all the time to see what Lucca had wrote so she had tugged her over, so that the trainer’s writing card was lying across both of their laps. Lucca was still apprehensive of the contact, shuffling every now and again, blushing every time she looked at where their legs were touching. Michele finally gave into her curiosity and asked the question she had been longing to all day.  
“Lucca.” she started, catching the girl’s attention with her serious tone and her pause before continuing. “While I must say I rather flattered by the attention, what has you so… worked up about me?”  
Lucca had froze at that, blushing as red as Velvet’s metal shell, looking at Michele with eyes mixed with questioning concern and panicked embarrassment.   
“Yes, it’s obvious.” answering Lucca’s unspoken question. “I’ve never seen anyone blush as much as you. I compliment you in anyway and boom, you’re red. I’m just curious.” Lucca wasn’t making eye contact with her now, and was twirling her marker about in her hand nervously. Just when Michele was starting to worry she may have cross some sort of line, the young girl started to write.  
“When I was last in the Battle Chateau, Robin told me about you, about how good a trainer you were and how much work you put into your club. So I wanted to battle you, to see for myself. And you are really good.” Michele had started to respond to that, but a surprisingly sharp look from Lucca cut her off. Cleaning her card, she continued.  
“I really felt the connection between you and your Pokemon. You had obviously been together from when you were both young. It shows in how you have both rubbed off on each other. You sound like you command her, but in reality you have both reached an understanding that battling is what you want to do. You are both fighting the same fight, and so you don’t need to flower your words with courtesy. When I looked at you during the fight, you were super concentrated but every time your Scizor took a hit, you twitch slightly, like you felt her pain. You seemed like someone who actually cared for their Pokemon. But afterwards, when you were with all your friends it was obvious you cared for all them too. You paid attention to all of them, followed all of their jokes and quirks, and praised them on what they had done. So you seemed like a really nice person, and I wanted to get to know you.”  
Lucca set her marker down after that, her hand getting a tad sore from the extensive period of writing. She looked the Ace in the eye then, all of her shyness and hopefulness written on her face. She had played her heart on her sleeve, and as praying her risk paid off. Michele was just in awe at what she had just read. Lucca had managed to pick up so much about her from just one fight, stuff that Michele hadn’t even thought of until she had been told by the young trainer. She had been able to see the bond between her and Velvet from how they fought, whereas many who spent weeks on end with her failed to see it. Lucca had also been right about her friends too; they may be useless half the time and a pain in the ass the rest of it, but she really wouldn’t change them for the world. It was simply amazing how much the girl had managed to fine out about her from one battle. She noticed the girl started to frown in worry and realised she hadn’t said anything in a while.  
“Wow.” was the only thing that would come into her head. “I mean… wow. That’s just… astonishing. How did you even work all that out?” Lucca just shrugged shyly, writing “I just have a good eye.” now it was Michele’s turn to blush. She took one of Lucca’s had with one of her own, causing the girl to freeze up.  
“Thank you.” she said. “I don’t think there’s anything you could get from it, but we hold our club every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Would you like to come?” Lucca had been a little bewildered by the invitation at first, but catching what the ace was really asking, she then smiled widely and nodded vigorously. Michele laughed at the girl’s giddiness. They had stayed there for a long time, chatting aimlessly about nothing, just enjoying each other’s company. They only realised how late it was when one of the streetlights near them had suddenly switched on, blinding both girls and shaking them both back into reality. Despite Lucca’s protests, Michele insisted on walking her to the start of Santalune forest; it was the least she could do for keeping her so late. They hadn’t walked with linked arms or holding hand, they had only really just started, but they bit walk a little closer, showing their new found connection. Once they reached the entrance to the forest, Lucca had immediately taken out her card and wrote a question.  
“So does this count as a date?” Michele didn’t reply immediately faking a look of contemplation before slowly reaching over and sweeping the girl’s hair behind her ear, running her finger slowly along her cheek, causing the girl to blush at the prolonged contact.  
“Sure. If you want to.” replied Michele. Lucca had smiled and lightly hugged the bigger Ace, only able to hug her midriff. It was a quick hug, so quick Michele had been unable to reciprocate, then Lucca had broken off and waved before walking off. Michele watched her walk off, a mixture of emotions swirling in her stomach, the darker insides of the forest swallowing the tiny girl fast. She sighed wistfully to herself and turned back up the route. Days could be too short sometimes.


	4. An unhealthily healthy lunch and other dramatic events.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michele teaches a class, Lucca almost dies, Petra is lazy, Sara says inappropriate things and a wall goes missing. Drama! Enjoy and comment if you have anything you'd like to say.

“Ok, who can tell me some attacks that deals damage to the user as well as the opponent.” Michele surveyed the small group of school kids who were sitting on the floor in front of her. She had decided to take a small class from Robin, giving the Duchess a much deserved break. She had decided to focus on the basics, teaching them about STAB attacks and move coverage. She now kicked it up a very slight notch, going into specific categories of moves. She may have gone too far though, seeing several drooling kids starting at her with blank eyes. Just as she was about to give up, she saw a pair of small hand at the back slowly rise up.  
“Umm… Missus Ace lady?” she heard a duet of voices say.  
“Yes… Amy and May, right?”  
“Yup. We know some.” said the twins.  
“Go on.” encouraged Michele. If she had learnt anything from the past few days, it was that patience and encouragement worked wonders. Push a child to far and all you would get would be a crying match.  
“There’s Take Down, Double-Edge…” started Amy.  
“… Flare Blitz, Volt Tackle…” continued May.  
“… Wild Charge…”  
“… Submission…”  
“… Head Smash…”  
“… Brave Bird…”  
The twins made quite a cute sight, counting off the moves with their hands in unison.  
“… and Wood Hammer.” They finished together, each looking at the other to make sure they hadn’t left ones out.  
“Very good, you two.” Michele praised. “That was a lot to remember. There are only a couple of moves I’d like to add to that list.” The twins peaked up at that, leaning forward as if that would help them listen.  
“The first.” she said to the entire class, not wanted to appear to have favourites. “is Struggle. All Pokemon can use this move but only when they can’t use any other moves, like if they have the only move they can use Disabled or if they have used up all there PP for all of their moves.” There was some inevitable giggling when she said ’peepee’ but it soon died down, the kids eager for her to continue.  
“Struggle isn’t a very good move as it isn’t all that strong and it always takes away a quarter of the user’s health. It‘s better to switch your Pokemon out rather than have them Struggle.” The class nodded along in agreement.  
“The second is a very rare move so I wouldn’t expect you to know it. I haven’t even seen it myself. It is called Light of Ruin.” she paused letting the dramatic sounding name sink in with the kids. “Do you all know the Pokemon Floette?” Seeing only a few nod, she when to the side of the room and pulled out one of the many picture books on a bookshelf. She flicked through the many pages, until she found what she was looking for.  
“This is a white flower Floette.” holding the book out for all to see, before handing it to the nearest child to look at and pass on.” Normal Floette can’t use this move, but there is a special Florette that has been recorded to use this move. It has been reported to have multiple colourations on its flower, which also has a distinct shape.” She looked down at her mini class; she could almost see the tiny cogs in their heads turn trying to understand her techno babble.  
“That means it has a special flower that nobody else has.” she said, correcting her language.  
A chorus of ‘Oh’s rang up from the class. Michele chuckled and looking at the clock ranging from the small room, she was caught off guard by the time.  
“Whoops, I’ve kept you here longer than I should have. Off you go.” she said, making shooing gestures with her hands. “We’ll have a look at some other special Pokemon next time if you’re interested, ok?” There was excited agreement amongst the kids as they rose to their feet, ‘yay’ing and whooping at the prospect. They jogged out then, glad for a chance to get out side a play rather than be cramped up in the small room. You could only hold a child in the room for so long before it needs to jump around, no matter how exciting the topic. She turned and tidied up the small mess of books that she had on the desk behind her. She had brought more than she needed, but it paid to be prepared. If she had only brought the one book with a topic the kids had hated, it would have been impossible to control them. She didn’t know why she had brought ‘The Code and Etiquette of a Successful Trainer’ though. That book had almost killed her the first time she read it, when she was twelve years old. Suddenly, she felt a familiar pair of hand wrap around her stomach, squeezing her with all the might of a baby Ekans.   
“Sorry about that, I got caught up in the moment.” she said, tilting her head to see a much welcome sight. Lucca just smiled, forgiving the Ace of the atrocious crime instantly. Pulling herself from the attempted death grip, she quickly finished her rearranging before turning to ask. “Ready for lunch?” Lucca nodded, smiling excitedly. After spending so much time with the Ace by this stage, the girl had gotten over most of her initial shyness. It didn’t stop Michele from being able to make her blush though. That probably would never go away.  
“Good, because I made lunch for both of us again.” Lucca’s face fell at that, and she puffed her cheeks out in annoyance.  
“Arceus, they aren’t that bad. Come on.” Michele pulled the girl out of the room, holding on tight enough to prevent a get away. She lead them to their usual place, a small picnic table just outside, near the battle area so it provided a great view of any ensuing fights they could watch. Unsurprisingly, Petra was already there, napping along one of the benches, along with Sara who was feeding slices of apple to her Dedenne, who was happily munching away, light sparks flying from its cheeks. Looking up, Sara noticed the two approaching and shouted a greeting, causing the sleeping Ranger to jump awake, giving Michele the opportunity to slip onto the bench before she could claim it all again.   
“How are you guys?” asked Sara. “Billy looked a little hungry, so I thought it might be best to get him feed.” The Dedenne referred to squeaked in protest at being used as a scapemouse once again. Sara hushed him with another slice of apple though.  
“We’re fine, thanks. Just finished up with Robin’s class.” answered Michele, taking two containers put of her purse, handing one to Lucca. The trainer hesitantly accepted it, before putting it down on the table, unopened, staring at it.  
“She make you another one Lucs?” said Georgia, who had just jumped out one of the windows near where they sat. “A true shame. Wha’cha want written on your tombstone?”  
“It’s NOT that bad, for Arceus’ sake.” said the Ace. Lucca, who had taken out her card replied to Georgia’s question.  
“Here’s lies Lucatiel, who died from eating far too much healthy stuff that it was ended up being unhealthy.”  
“I make you three lunches a week, how is that unhealthily healthy.” the Ace complained. “Just eat the salad already.” Lucca’s face sagged as she resigned to her fate, popping open the little container. It was certainly a healthy lunch, full of lettuce, spring onions and tomatoes. Lucca gulped at the lunch, as if she was the one being eaten. Michele just rolled her eyes at the sight, used to it by now. Lucca had been coming to the club for nine weeks now. Michele had gotten sick of the sight of all the cakes, pastries and lemonade that the young girl brought to eat by the second week, so she had started making her lunches. The young girl had been delighted at first, but that had changed into feigned joy when she saw the contents. And then that turned into utter despair when she saw the same thing for the third time. Michele had been adamant though, and continued. It probably didn’t even make a dent in the girl’s diet of sugar with a side of sugar but every time Lucca was about to each one she looked like she was going to die.  
“Anyway, how’s training going Sara?” asked Michele, hoping the change in topic would be enough to convince Lucca to a least nibble the leaves.  
“Good, actually!” replied the Lass. “We’ve been practicing Billy’s Nuzzle attack. You know, how to be able to get close enough to do it without getting hit.” The Pokemon looked up from its eating at the mention of its name.   
“Deden!” He answered in agreement, crossing its little arms in pride.  
“That‘s excellent.” praised the Ace. Sara was making pretty good progress with the little mouse, considering she had only caught him at the start of last week. It would be soon on par with Sara’s other Pokemon, a female Granbull called Lady.   
“Do you think you would consider trying another gym challenge?” The Lass had managed to win two badges by the skin of her teeth and had not gone back for a third.  
“Hmm…” Sara looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe. We’ll see how Billy and Lady feel before making any decisions.” She scratched at Billy’s chin absentmindedly then, causing him to squeak in pleasure. Michele nodded, knowing how her friend was feeling. Gym leaders were on a different league to the usual trainers around here. They had been specially selected by the Pokemon League so even if they battle with lower level Pokemon, you know they would think of a way around it. She believed in her friend, but didn’t want to push her, seeing how easy it was for a Pokemon to get seriously injured during a tough fight. A chocking sound broke through the serious mood, and Michele turned around to a red faced Lucca, whose was being thumped in the back a little too enthusiastically by Georgia.  
“You tried to just shove as much down your throat as possible didn’t you?” Lucca nodded guiltily.  
“That’s what she said.” mumbled a sleepy Petra, before resuming her lunchtime nap. Michele frowned at her, wondering how someone could sleep for 18 hours a day. Then again, she didn’t know what the Ranger did at night. That probably didn’t bode well thinking about. Turning again, she saw Lucca trying to feed a slice of tomato to Billy, who was flinching away in disgust the same way the girl herself did.   
“For Arceus’ sake, just finish it already.” Lucca frowned at her. She put down the fork and started to write.  
“You really swear a lot you know. For someone who works around kids.”  
“I do not.” Michele replied defensively. “Right guys?” Michele looked around for back up but Sara was suddenly very interested in her lunch and Georgia was attempting to climb back through the window she had came from.   
“Really?” asked the Ace, now a little concerned. “You all think that?”  
“Weeelllll…” started Sara, letting herself trail off when she couldn‘t think of an appeasing reply.  
“Don’t worry ‘bout it too much Mickey.” came Georgia’s reply from above. Since she had made it easily up the first window, she had decided to see if she could make it up to the next. “There’s no f’ers or s’ers in there. You just mention the big A a lot. A heck of a lot.”  
She looked at Lucca, who shrugged nervously. She had thought so for weeks but really hadn’t wanted to bring it up. What had possessed to do it now was unknown. Probably the tomatoes.  
“Why did no one tell me earlier?” asked Michele. Lucca just mimed little claws with her hand, opening and closing them near her face, which had mock terror written all over it.   
“Huhhh.“ sighed the Ace, now wondering how many times she had threatened to set Velvet on somebody compared to the amount of times she actually did. “Well, I don’t do it in front of the kids anyway. And I’m sure it’s not as bad as you say.” Lucca’s eyes widened as an idea popped into her head.  
“Why don’t you count the number of times you do it in a day. Then we’ll know.”  
“That wouldn’t work.” interjected Sara. “She doesn’t notice half the time. Someone else has to do it.” After a pause, she started to grin. “Why don’t you do it Lucca, considering how you mentioned it.” There was mischief in Sara’s eyes, which is something even Arceus would be worried about. Michele stared at Sara hard for a minute, before reaching into her wallet and pulling out a few coins.  
“Here.” she said, passing them to Lucca. “There’s a vending machine near the entrance. There’s lemonade and chocolate bars. Go” Lucca was apprehensive for a moment. Just a moment. Then she snatched the coins and dashed away, moving as speeds a Ninjask would be jealous of.  
“Wow.” said Sara. “How much are you depriving her? I haven’t seen anyone move that fast since Georgia seen someone try to take her paints.”  
“AYE!” shouted the painter in question, who was steadily making her way towards the roof. “And I nailed the bugger right in his dirty little…” What ever she said was lost in a gust of wind; probably for the best.  
“DON’T change the subject.” said Michele, who had now stood up and was leaning over intimidatingly. “What’s your game?”  
“Who me?” asked Sara, putting on her best innocent voice. “Whatever could you mean?”  
Michele frowned menacingly and slowed reached for her belt, the threat all too obvious.  
“Ok, ok.” said the Lass, waving her hands in surrender. “I was going to tell you anyway; it wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”   
“Talk.” growled the Ace.  
“Well, think about it. You have to spend the whole day with her. All day. From the second you wake up to when you fall asleep. You can’t be ‘super-cool-Ace-trainer’ all day. She gets to see your cracks.”  
Michele really had to hand it to Sara. She could really push the boundary of how far she could go and not get murdered.  
“Then.” she continued. “You be getting all worked up by the counting, and you’ll be super angry at her and when it’s late and just you two, she’ll be super nice which will make you even angrier but really into her. She’ll try to snuggle but you won’t let her, you’ll just pick her up, carry her to your room, slam her down on your bed and… phew.” finished Sara, fanning herself with her hand. “Doesn’t that sound just like something right out of a racy Romance nove…” Sara turned to see a very red faced, very angry right now Ace with an even redder, even angrier, very large Scizor right behind her. And both were looking at her. Angrily.  
“Velvet. Get. Her. Now.”  
Lucca was happily taking her time getting back, enjoying her chocolate filled with cookie bits and strawberry lemonade. So she missed most of what happened and was more than a little surprised to see that the picnic table was gone. And the wall beside the picnic table. And the very large tree that had been several feet from it. No bits where about, they were all just gone. The only things that was there was a very angry-looking Ace trainer (and very nice looking too, but that was besides the point. (It was really its own point but she really needed to focus now.)) beside a very angry looking Scizor (and again rather nice-looking (NOT IN THAT WAY! Shame on you!)), along with a mildly completely-terrified-out-of-her-mind Pokemon Ranger. Every fibre of her body and mind told her that running was a very good idea, and she was agreeing with them both, running sounded good, but the very angry (very nice-loo… stop that) Ace saw her so running was out of the question. She had walked over cautiously, looking about for signs of the picnic table, or chunks of wall for that matter, before raising a questioning eyebrow at the angry Ace.   
“Velvet happened.” was all the answer she got and needed. Lucca did the only thing that seemed to make sense (to her at least) and offered Michele a bit of chocolate. She silently shook her head, so Lucca decided to a very insensible thing and ask where Sara was. Michele looked at Lucca for a second before answering.  
“Away.” she said, staring at eyes that dared her to ask more. She then walked towards the door, her little red death machine following close afterwards. And watching her walk off, Lucca thought only one thing.  
“Oh Arceus. She is kind of really sexy when she’s angry.” Lucca probably would have stood there all day with that thought, if not for the (un)fortunate intervention of a shoe from above hitting her on the head. Looking up, she saw a familiar ginger-headed girl, who was missing a shoe, looking back down at her.  
“Umm Lucs? You don’t think you could lend a hand here, could ya? I would do it meself but there ain’t really a wall here anymore to clamper down.” It took it took Lucca second to just process the ludicrousness of the situation, before reaching for her belt and getting Sonic out to help.  
Luckily, Sara reappeared the next day, though quieter than usual and sitting a very, very far distance away from Michele. Georgia had managed to get down and was successful in returning to the roof again. Robin returned from her short break to find the right wall of her club room missing. She had learned from experience it was probably not a good idea to ask. Petra managed to get a good day’s sleep, along with a good night’s as well. Michele had returned to normal levels of anger (well, normal for her, which was pretty good considering circumstances) and continued to make lunches for Lucca. Lucca managed to eat an entire one of said lunches without dying (though it had been touch and go at one point) as well as getting Michele to still agree to the ‘Swear Count.’ The picnic table, unfortunately, was never recovered.


End file.
